Harrell, Filani return to Lubbock on Abilene Christian’s staff - The Daily Toreador

The two played together at Tech under coach Mike Leach, connecting for 1,300 yards during the 2006 season. After time in the NFL and several coaching stops each, both landed at Abilene Christian in 2025. Harrell is in the Texas Tech Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Ring of Honor, making Saturday's return a little more layered than a typical non-conference matchup.

"Lubbock is a place that I obviously spent a lot of time," Harrell said. "I enjoyed my time out there. I don't get to go back near as often as I would like to, so it will be fun to go back."

For folks in Lubbock who watched that 2006 Red Raiders offense, seeing Harrell and Filani walk into Jones AT&T Stadium in opposing colors will be a strange sight. These are names people here associate with big Tech moments, not road trips from Abilene. Now they're drawing up plays against the program that made them both famous.